Mental Health Counselors: Job, Salary, and School Information from The Riley Guide

Job Numbers and Growth

There are about 100,000 jobs for people working as mental health counselors. People pursuing jobs in this occupation should expect a low overall unemployment rate.

Part-Time Work and Self-Employment

Government survey data shows that 15% of employees work fewer than 40 hours per week. Some 6% of mental health counselors work primarily as a consultant.

Training and Education

Having a master's degree may make it easier to find a job. Employees with a bachelor's degree or higher are 73% of the total. About 18% of mental health counselors have some college education, but do not have a degree. High school was all the education required by 9% of workers to get a job. Recommended schools are shown in the column to the right; request information from them to help you decide which, if any, could help you with this career.

Area Job Conditions

Cities with few jobs per capita for employees are Greensboro (North Carolina), Dallas (Texas), and Charleston (South Carolina). The most jobs are found in Taunton (Massachusetts), Gadsden (Alabama), and Scranton (Pennsylvania).

Within the US, the highest salaries for mental health counselors are found in Bakersfield (California), Vineland (New Jersey), and Lafayette (Indiana), and the lowest are found in Coeur d'Alene (Idaho), Houma (Louisiana), and Elkhart (Indiana).

Career Overview Video About Mental Health Counselors

Mental Health Counselors: Job and Salary Data by Metropolitan Area

The table below shows data for Mental Health Counselors, as of 2008. The Popularity in Area number tells you how common jobs for Mental Health Counselors are in the area, compared to other US metro areas. A value of 1.0 means an average number of people in the position for area population. Lower numbers mean fewer of these positions in the metro area. The most popular areas for Mental Health Counselors are starred .

State	Area	Positions	Typical Pay	Popularity in Area
Alabama	Birmingham	190	$32,680	0.5
Alabama	Gadsden	170	$25,110	8.2
Alabama	Mobile	180	$43,470	1.4
Alabama	Montgomery	130	$48,780	1.1
Alabama	Tuscaloosa	40	$36,470	0.7
Alaska	Anchorage	230	$55,000	2
Alaska	Fairbanks	40		2
Arizona	Phoenix	690	$48,950	0.5
Arizona	Tucson	150	$39,770	0.6
Arkansas	Fayetteville	60	$40,450	0.4
Arkansas	Fort Smith	70	$48,990	0.9
Arkansas	Little Rock	130	$44,230	0.5
California	Bakersfield	140	$66,170	0.7
California	Fresno	380	$56,370	1.6
California	Hanford	90	$58,750	5.2
California	Oakland	810	$43,960	1.1
California	Oxnard	70	$53,840	0.3
California	Riverside	720	$53,250	0.8
California	Sacramento	730	$55,300	1.1
California	Salinas	90		0.8
California	San Diego	920	$49,200	0.9
California	San Francisco	700	$49,660	1
California	San Jose	520	$45,350	0.8
California	San Luis Obispo	70		1
California	Santa Ana	380	$38,000	0.3
California	Santa Cruz	50	$42,440	0.9
California	Stockton	180	$40,900	1.2
California	Vallejo	180	$47,970	2.1
Colorado	Boulder	160	$39,050	1.4
Colorado	Colorado Springs	180	$44,900	1
Colorado	Denver	1,630	$36,940	1.8
Colorado	Fort Collins	160	$38,880	1.9
Colorado	Grand Junction	60	$32,620	1.6
Colorado	Pueblo	190	$41,710	5.5
Connecticut	Bridgeport	420	$42,140	1.3
Connecticut	Danbury	130	$31,980	2.8
Connecticut	Hartford	410	$40,140	1
Connecticut	New Haven	470	$40,190	2.3
Connecticut	Waterbury	100	$35,740	2.2
Delaware	Wilmington	140	$40,630	0.6
District of Columbia	Washington	1,570	$51,640	0.9
Florida	Cape Coral	80	$39,240	0.5
Florida	Deltona	110	$37,040	1
Florida	Fort Lauderdale	520	$45,500	1
Florida	Fort Walton Beach	50	$36,760	1
Florida	Jacksonville	370	$35,140	0.8
Florida	Miami	570	$45,420	0.8
Florida	Naples	90	$42,290	1.1
Florida	Ocala	60	$33,940	0.9
Florida	Orlando	210	$42,690	0.3
Florida	Palm Bay	80	$33,940	0.6
Florida	Panama City	70	$33,470	1.5
Florida	Pensacola	190	$33,670	1.8
Florida	Port St Lucie	60	$35,880	0.7
Florida	Sarasota	150	$44,540	0.8
Florida	Tampa	600	$35,900	0.7
Florida	West Palm Beach	210	$41,550	0.5
Georgia	Atlanta	1,220	$38,730	0.7
Georgia	Valdosta	40	$36,380	1.1
Hawaii	Honolulu	330	$35,670	1
Idaho	Boise	190	$41,380	1
Idaho	Coeur Dalene	40	$28,300	1.1
Idaho	Lewiston	80	$31,770	6
Illinois	Champaign	70	$38,780	1.1
Illinois	Chicago	3,210	$41,840	1.1
Illinois	Peoria	70	$37,950	0.6
Illinois	Rockford	120	$37,150	1.1
Indiana	Anderson	50	$38,800	2
Indiana	Elkhart	40	$27,820	0.5
Indiana	Evansville	60	$39,910	0.5
Indiana	Fort Wayne	130	$46,350	0.9
Indiana	Indianapolis	450	$43,290	0.7
Indiana	Lafayette	30	$58,330	0.6
Iowa	Davenport	80		0.6
Iowa	Sioux City	30	$39,640	0.6
Kansas	Topeka	130	$28,520	1.7
Kansas	Wichita	80	$38,890	0.4
Kentucky	Lexington	90	$34,790	0.5
Kentucky	Louisville	400	$32,310	0.9
Louisiana	Baton Rouge	80	$36,850	0.3
Louisiana	Houma	50	$25,150	0.8
Louisiana	New Orleans	710	$29,880	1.9
Louisiana	Shreveport	120	$31,730	1
Maine	Bangor	70	$58,050	1.7
Maine	Portland	80	$49,190	0.6
Maryland	Baltimore	970	$39,650	1
Maryland	Bethesda	190	$41,220	0.5
Maryland	Salisbury	40	$40,030	1.2
Massachusetts	Barnstable Town	410	$44,230	6
Massachusetts	Boston	2,170	$41,490	1.7
Massachusetts	Brockton	140	$41,620	2.3
Massachusetts	Leominster	80	$36,800	2.5
Massachusetts	New Bedford	90	$38,060	2.1
Massachusetts	Springfield	950	$38,790	4.4
Massachusetts	Taunton	300	$35,070	10.3
Massachusetts	Worcester	420	$36,920	2.4
Michigan	Battle Creek	70	$44,880	2.3
Michigan	Detroit	350	$41,960	0.7
Michigan	Flint	80	$54,200	0.8
Michigan	Grand Rapids	230	$44,520	0.8
Michigan	Lansing	130	$55,190	1
Minnesota	Duluth	70	$42,270	0.8
Minnesota	Minneapolis	1,290	$44,320	1
Mississippi	Jackson	110	$46,900	0.6
Missouri	Jefferson City	70	$41,170	1.6
Missouri	Kansas City	550	$38,610	0.7
Missouri	St Joseph	70		2.2
Missouri	St Louis	460	$39,630	0.5
Montana	Great Falls	30	$35,610	1.4
Montana	Missoula	130	$31,850	3.9
Nebraska	Lincoln	150	$37,180	1.3
Nebraska	Omaha	340	$41,990	1
Nevada	Las Vegas	210	$49,280	0.3
Nevada	Reno	110	$56,200	0.7
New Hampshire	Manchester	150	$36,660	2.1
New Jersey	Camden	440	$43,960	1.1
New Jersey	Edison	580	$41,300	0.8
New Jersey	Newark	1,020	$40,750	1.4
New Jersey	Trenton	210	$41,440	1.4
New Jersey	Vineland	40	$57,990	1.1
New Mexico	Albuquerque	670	$45,920	2.4
New Mexico	Santa Fe	40		1
New York	Albany	260	$45,300	0.8
New York	Buffalo	450	$30,410	1.1
New York	Ithaca	40	$34,090	1.5
New York	Kingston	60	$50,290	1.6
New York	Nassau	810	$36,320	0.9
New York	New York	4,740	$36,460	1.3
New York	Poughkeepsie	130		0.8
New York	Rochester	460	$41,940	1.3
New York	Syracuse	90	$39,310	0.4
New York	Utica	40	$39,850	0.5
North Carolina	Asheville	90	$40,240	0.7
North Carolina	Charlotte	260	$40,420	0.4
North Carolina	Durham	380	$38,000	1.9
North Carolina	Fayetteville	140	$37,290	1.7
North Carolina	Greensboro	50	$42,750	0.2
North Carolina	Greenville	100	$48,350	2.1
North Carolina	Hickory	260	$44,140	2.3
North Carolina	Raleigh	510	$40,700	1.4
North Carolina	Wilmington	130	$48,740	1.3
Ohio	Akron	240	$43,790	1
Ohio	Canton	110	$40,880	0.9
Ohio	Cincinnati	610	$41,250	0.8
Ohio	Cleveland	810	$39,970	1
Ohio	Columbus	530	$44,890	0.8
Ohio	Dayton	290	$46,550	1
Ohio	Toledo	300	$46,960	1.3
Ohio	Youngstown	620	$44,620	3.7
Oklahoma	Lawton	60	$44,140	2.6
Oklahoma	Oklahoma City	330	$41,810	0.8
Oklahoma	Tulsa	280	$37,450	0.9
Oregon	Eugene	270	$41,270	2.6
Oregon	Portland	1,100	$50,840	1.4
Oregon	Salem	80	$48,500	0.8
Pennsylvania	Allentown	600	$41,660	2.5
Pennsylvania	Altoona	100		2.6
Pennsylvania	Erie	550	$35,950	6.4
Pennsylvania	Harrisburg	590	$42,690	2.6
Pennsylvania	Johnstown	120	$32,360	3.3
Pennsylvania	Lancaster	310	$39,170	1.8
Pennsylvania	Lebanon	30		1
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	4,980	$36,950	3.6
Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh	2,990	$33,390	3.6
Pennsylvania	Reading	320	$37,140	2.8
Pennsylvania	Scranton	1,240	$30,990	6.7
Pennsylvania	State College	80	$35,680	2.2
Pennsylvania	Williamsport	60	$34,570	1.9
Pennsylvania	York	220	$31,640	1.7
Rhode Island	Providence	800	$35,520	1.9
South Carolina	Charleston	30	$37,020	0.1
South Carolina	Columbia	150	$47,010	0.6
South Dakota	Rapid City	40	$33,880	1
South Dakota	Sioux Falls	130	$43,210	1.4
Tennessee	Kingsport	70	$31,900	0.9
Tennessee	Knoxville	100	$26,900	0.4
Tennessee	Memphis	630	$29,470	1.4
Tennessee	Nashville	820	$32,950	1.5
Texas	Abilene	60	$28,890	1.5
Texas	Austin	330	$39,460	0.6
Texas	College Station	90	$26,920	1.8
Texas	Corpus Christi	220	$33,590	1.8
Texas	Dallas	280	$41,230	0.2
Texas	El Paso	130	$30,380	0.7
Texas	Fort Worth	130	$39,370	0.2
Texas	Houston	880	$41,200	0.5
Texas	Longview	50	$34,650	0.8
Texas	Midland	40	$41,000	0.9
Texas	San Antonio	270	$48,390	0.4
Texas	Texarkana	40	$56,560	1.2
Utah	Ogden	130	$44,150	0.9
Utah	Provo	80	$47,110	0.7
Utah	Salt Lake City	370	$46,830	0.8
Virginia	Blacksburg	40	$49,750	1
Virginia	Charlottesville	80	$39,880	1.3
Virginia	Lynchburg	230	$34,130	3.4
Virginia	Richmond	690	$48,570	1.6
Virginia	Roanoke	250	$37,250	2.3
Virginia	Virginia Beach	930	$42,410	1.7
Virginia	Winchester	180	$43,470	5.4
Washington	Bellingham	90	$41,570	1.7
Washington	Bremerton	150	$36,770	2.7
Washington	Kennewick	140	$39,290	2.3
Washington	Longview	60	$43,710	3
Washington	Seattle	1,910	$40,580	1.8
Washington	Tacoma	1,210	$39,000	6.3
Washington	Yakima	350	$37,990	6.6
West Virginia	Charleston	160	$37,690	1.6
West Virginia	Huntington	180	$35,100	2.3
West Virginia	Morgantown	30	$28,890	1
West Virginia	Parkersburg	70	$33,510	1.5
West Virginia	Wheeling	60	$33,600	1.5
Wisconsin	Appleton	90	$40,000	1.2
Wisconsin	Green Bay	60	$47,530	0.5
Wisconsin	Madison	190	$33,620	0.8
Wisconsin	Milwaukee	610	$37,830	1
Wisconsin	Oshkosh	90	$49,470	1.6
Wisconsin	Racine	30	$48,250	0.6
Wisconsin	Wausau	30	$47,500	0.7
Wyoming	Cheyenne	50	$43,040	1.9

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Mental Health Counselors